Computer sets new speed record in US

Scientists at an American government weapons laboratory have built the world’s fastest computer capable of 1,000 trillion operations per second.

The Energy Department and IBM announced the breakthrough today. The computer will be used to help maintain the US nuclear weapons stockpile. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the new computer, named Roadrunner, will also be used to help solve global energy problems and “open new windows of knowledge” in basic research.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and IBM worked for six years to achieve the world record computer speed.